Beware the Frozen Heart
by Dreaming Snow
Summary: Harry Potter is dead and Voldemort has won the war. Approximately 16 years have passed since then. All of Harry's friends and supporters have either been killed or had their memories wiped and replaced with false ones. Things were looking bleak, until one day, a new prophecy appeared, about a child of the stars who would be the Dark Lord's undoing. Full plot inside.
1. Terror at the Quidditch World Cup

Plotline: Harry Potter is dead and Voldemort has won the war. 16 years has passed since then. All of Harry's friends and supporters have either been killed or had their memories wiped and replaced with false ones. Things were looking bleak for the Wizarding World of Great Britain, until one day, a prophecy came to light, of a child of the stars with the innate ability to thaw a frozen heart and be the Dark Lord's undoing. No one knew who the prophecy was about, until one fateful day...

* * *

Chapter 1: Terror at the Quidditch World Cup

_Born of cold and winter air  
And mountain rain combining...  
This icy force both foul and fair  
Has a frozen heart worth mining_

Cut through the heart, cold and clear  
Strike for love and strike for fear  
See the beauty, sharp and sheer  
Split the ice apart!  
Beware the frozen heart...

15 year old Sakura Kinomoto looked around in amazement as she, Syaoran, Meiling, and Tomoyo followed Eriol through the bustling crowd as they made their way past all the street vendors selling food, toys, and nifty accessories towards a large stadium. For their summer break, Eriol had invited them all over to England for a week to visit and to show them around his home country. He had first shown them around his hometown, Reading. Then he took them to Cambridge to check out the colleges and to also try out punting on the River Cam (Syaoran had almost lost the punting stick quite a few times. Meiling did no better; when trying to take over for her cousin, she accidentally got the stick stuck in a reed, leaving the punt to continue drifting along the river with five extremely embarrassed teenagers until another punter helped them out). For the past two days, he had taken them around London and showing them famous tourist sights such as the Tower of London (along with the infamous Crown Jewels of the royal family), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (which actually referred to the largest bell inside the clock tower rather than the clock tower itself), and of course, the London Eye. Today, however, he had wanted to show them something more interesting, and for that, they had taken a trip to nearby Scotland. When Sakura asked him where he was taking them to, all he did was smile.

What shocked Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Meiling the most were the outfits that the people around them were wearing. They didn't look like any ordinary clothing, but more like

"Robes!" Meiling exclaimed. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "And pretty tacky looking ones, too. Daidouji-san could make robes that look even more fashionable than those!"

Tomoyo grinned. "I'm glad to hear that, Meiling-chan!" Her grin abruptly disappeared as she glanced around with a scrutinizing gaze. "But why are they all dressed like this?"

"That's because they're not ordinary people," Eriol spoke. They were now passing through a tunnel beneath the stadium. When they emerged, he heard gasps of astonishment from his four friends as they drew in sharp breaths. The entire stadium was completely packed. Even more, they were all wearing robes!

"W-what is this?" Syaoran sputtered. He had never even seen anything like this before! Before Eriol could explain, a loud booming voice rang throughout the stadium, reaching every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Welcome to the four hundred and twenty-seventh Quidditch World Cup!"

Cheers and screams rose from the spectators as they waved their flags. Sakura could make out the distinct sound of spectators chanting out names, as if rooting for their favorite team.

"Come on, I got us good seats," Eriol said as he beckoned them to continue walking. "Excuse me, excuse me," he said, switching to English as he weaved through. It took his friends a lot of effort not to lose him through the crowd. Finally, they arrived at their seats, or rather, Eriol showed them where their seats were. He then gave them all binoculars to view the game through.

"I heard that man saying Quidditch World Cup. What is Quidditch, anyway?" Meiling asked.

"It's a popular sport among magical folks," Eriol explained as he watched the game before him. "In the Quidditch World Cup, Quidditch teams representing their respective countries compete for a chance to win the World Cup. It is held in a different country every four years. The previous game was held 4 years ago in Japan."

"Japan?!" Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Meiling exclaimed in surprise.

Eriol nodded. "Boy did they knock the socks off of everyone with their elaborate stadium setup. As you may have already guessed, this year's World Cup is held here in Scotland, which was why I brought you here. I would've taken you all to see the World Cup 4 years ago in Japan, but you had your own troubles to deal with, since that was the same summer the Nothing got loose."

Sakura's eyes widened, then nodded as she remembered that summer. Come to think of it, that was also the same summer where she finally confessed her feelings to Syaoran. Despite the hardships that the Nothing, now the Hope, had given her that summer, she considered it one of the best summers she ever had.

"Anyway, today's competing teams are the Nordic National Quidditch Team and the German National Quidditch Team. Both of them want the World Cup, but only one can win it." Eriol then continued to explain the rest of the rules of Quidditch to them.

"Normally, non-magical folks wouldn't be able to get in to see this," she could hear Eriol say. "But I had made special arrangements to exclude you two. Li-san is from a well-respected old magical family, so it wasn't difficult to get arrangements for her. Daidouji-san, on the other hand, was much harder to get special arrangements for, because she isn't from a magical family. Anyway, you remember those bracelets I gave you?"

Meiling and Tomoyo nodded as they held up their wrists to reveal brown strings with black beads on them.

"Those allow you to view the game. Without them, all you would see is an empty, misty moor."

"You must have gone through such trouble getting tickets for us," Tomoyo said. "Thank you for giving us this wonderful opportunity, Hiiragizawa-kun."

"It's a pleasure."

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome the Nordic National Quidditch Team! I give you…Bjorgman!"

The crowd went wild as an orange-clad figure on a broomstick shot out onto the field from an entrance below the stadium.

"He's their newest member," Eriol explained. "Took over the Beater position from Asgard Pettersson, who retired last year."

"Anderson!"

Another player from the Nordic Team came out.

"Gustafson!"

"Keep an eye out on that one. He's the one who scores the winning points for the team. The Nordic Team has a special move of their own, called the Björn Blizzard,

that always guarantees them to score no matter what. You see, what happens is that the 3 chasers and 2 beaters do flips in the air to create streams of icy fog. This freezes the opposing keeper and allows Gustafson to score easily," Eriol pointed out.

"Hansen! Knutsen! Helstrom! And finally, Elsa Frostad!"

"She's also a new member," Eriol said. "Took over for Tina Lundstrøm two years ago when Lundstrøm married a Norweigian player, became pregnant with her first child, and decided to settle down with her family. I've heard she's a feisty one to look out for."

"Now, everyone, please greet the German National Quidditch Team!" the same booming voice yelled. "Welcome to the field Todt! Blijk! Brand! Fischer!"

One by one, players in violet robes shot out onto the field from a different entrance than the ones the Nordic Team had come out of.

"Fischer's new to the team as well. Took over Katrina von Glockenspieler's position as Beater four years ago. The poor girl suffered a nasty blow to the arm by a Bludger that prevented her from playing again."

"Eldritch! Wiel! And finaaaally…Weiss!"

The sudden loud cheering as the final player emerged told the five of them that he was the favorite of the players in the German National Team. It was also clear to them that many spectators were hoping for the German National Team to win.

"And here, visiting from England, our referee, former Holyhead Harpies Chaser and current senior Quidditch correspondent for the English paper the Daily Prophet, please welcome Ginny Weasley!"

A female red haired woman calmly walked out on the field, carrying a large wooden crate under one arm and her broomstick under another. Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed a sad look on the woman's face, but that quickly disappeared as she set the crate down, then kicked it open to allow four balls to burst forth into the air: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. Ginny gave a sharp blow of the whistle hanging around her neck to signal the start of the game before shooting into the air on her broomstick so she could referee from above.

"AND THEY'RE OFF!" the commentator shouted. "Andersen's got the Quaffle, and he's passing it over to Bjorgman! Hansen! Ooh, looks like Brand got the Quaffle from Hansen, and now he's passing it to Todt! Wow, what a game!"

Syaoran could feel his hands shaking from excitement as he smashed his binoculars even harder into his face. He was sure he would have dents around his eyes tomorrow. The speed of the players was incredible—never before had he seen such agility. He could hear his girlfriend and her best friend squealing and gasping in awe.

"Look out folks, the Nordic Team is executing their famous Björn Blizzard!" the commentator shouted.

The five watched in amazement as the Nordic Team executed their signature move.

"And Gustafson scores! That's ten-zero to the Nordic Team!"

Syaoran could see that the German team were not ones to be so easily beat. They soon tied the game at twenty points, and before long, were overtaking the Nordic Team. However, the game wasn't over yet until the Snitch was found. For 20 long minutes the game went on, both teams fierce and unrelenting. A few times, Ginny Weasley even had to call out fouls against both teams.

"WHOA, LOOK AT FROSTAD GO! AND WEISS IS FOLLOWING CLOSE BY!"

"She's seen the Snitch!" Eriol exclaimed as he watched a platinum blonde woman with plaited hair did a sudden nosedive down towards the center of the stadium, her eyes focused in fierce concentration.

"GO GO GO!" Sakura cheered, jumping up and down. Tomoyo and Meiling joined her in her excitement, while Syaoran was rooting for Weiss. Time seemed to slow down as each spectator held their breath. Weiss had caught up with Frostad, and the two of them were neck to neck as they followed the trail of the Golden Snitch. Who was going to catch it?

Suddenly, Frostad lurched forward, her hand grabbing at the air in front of her, a split second before Weiss himself reached out. There was a brief moment of silence, and then the scoreboard flashed: SCANDINAVIA: 250, GERMANY: 200.

"THE NORDIC TEAM WINS!" the commentator shouted amongst the cheers. Sakura watched as Frostad flew down to the stadium and joined her teammates in the celebration. She also watched as the German team and the referee also flew back down.

"Alright, let's get out of here before it gets really difficult to get out," Eriol said as he stood up and lead them out while the half the crowd were still cheering for the Nordic Team's victory and half were expressing disappointment that the German Team didn't win.

"So what did you think of the game?" Eriol asked as they exited the stadium.

"That was exhilarating! I wonder if China has a team!" Syaoran exclaimed, still breathless and in awe of what he had witnessed just minutes ago.

"Unfortunately, no," Eriol said, much to Syaoran's disappointment. "Anyway, let's head on back to the manor, shall we? I had Nakuru-san prepare dinner for us."

Sakura clapped her hands together. "Wow, great!" she gushed.

"Hopefully the stuffed animal hasn't eaten through all of it," Syaoran snorted.

Back at the manor…

Kero was busy playing a car racing game with Spinel when he suddenly sneezed. "Huh, was someone talking about me?" he mused out loud. Hearing a loud cheer next to him, he focused his attention back on the game…and screamed out in horror when he saw what was displayed on the screen. In his brief moment of inattentiveness, Spinel had overtaken him to win first place. The little black cat next to him was doing a little victory dance of his own and also gloating.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kero screamed.

"So how come we haven't heard of Quidditch before this, or that there is an entire community of magical folks like us?" Sakura asked as they continued walking away from the stadium.

"Mother told me that when he was young, Clow Reed attended some kind of magic school, but she didn't know what," Syaoran chimed in.

"A magic school?" Sakura mused.

"Well, there are only a few magic schools in existence," Eriol said. "Clow Reed is of English and Chinese descent. Since China doesn't have a magic school of its own, he had to have gone to the English wizarding school, which would be Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland…that is, this very country."

"You know a lot, Hiiragizawa-kun," Tomoyo remarked.

"I did retain most of Clow's memories after all," Eriol said with a smile.

"Is there a Japanese magic school, too?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. It's called Mahoutokoro. I'm not too sure about the details, though, but I do know that they send out letters to magical kids much earlier than Hogwarts, that is, they send out the letters when the kids are only 10, whereas Hogwarts sends the kids the letters when they turn 11."

"Well then, how come Sakura-chan didn't get one?" Tomoyo asked.

"All these magic schools are for witches and wizards," Eriol explained. "Not sorcerers and sorceresses like me, Sakura-san, and Li-kun. We channel our magic in a different way from the witches and wizards, such as using staffs and weapons instead of a wand."

"Wand?" Syaoran snorted. "Like 'abracadabra bibbity boppity boo' kind of wand?"

"Not exactly," Eriol said. "But anyway, you and Sakura-san don't have to concern yourselves with that. You two are past the age of acceptance anyway."

"I see," Sakura said, looking disappointed for a brief second before shaking her head. "Anyway, let's see what Nakuru—" She abruptly cut off, her senses alert. Syaoran had also sensed the danger and was looking around.

"I'll take the girls back to the manor," Eriol said urgently. "Use your magic if you must, but don't let anyone see you use it! These people aren't used to seeing sorcery magic! Additionally, while they have heard bits and pieces about Clow Reed, they do not yet know that he created the cards nor do they know that you are his successor, Sakura-san. It is safer for you to stay hidden." Sakura and Syaoran nodded at him as he took Meiling and Tomoyo's hands and quickly teleported them back. As soon as the three of them had left, a loud boom followed by an explosion rocked the stadium. What used to be a few trickle of people exiting the stadium turned into chaos as people screamed and ran, fearing for their lives. From the explosion came fire that licked at the structure, threatening to collapse it.

"Look!" Sakura gasped, suddenly grabbing hold of Syaoran's arm as she pointed. Syaoran followed her finger to the object she was looking at and widened his eyes. There, gleaming ominously against the sky, was a skull with a snake protruding from his mouth.

"Hoeee…it looks so evil," Sakura whimpered.

"It must be the symbol of whoever is causing this mayhem," Syaoran gritted his teeth.

"You kids, get out of here!" An older wizard with orange hair shouted at them as he ran by.

"Come on," Sakura said, grabbing Syaoran's hand. "I have an idea."

They ran to a nearby grove of trees, where Sakura could safely release her staff without anyone noticing.

"Watery! Earthy! Put out the flames!" Sakura shouted as she tossed two card into the air. A blue mermaid-like spirit burst forth from the card, baring her fangs as she went directly for the flames at the stadium. Another spirit, one resembling a rock dragon, joined the first to douse the flames.

"What do we do if someone spots us?" Sakura asked Syaoran worriedly.

"Use the Erase to erase their memories of seeing you use the Cards," Syaoran said grimly. "Whoever is behind this would surely make you a target if they were to find out who we really are. They may see the Firey and Earthy, but they won't be able to tell who casted the spirits."

"Okay," Sakura nodded, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that someone somewhere was watching them. As it turned out, her instinct wasn't wrong. From another location, someone else had spotted them and was now watching with narrowed eyes.

_That girl…_

Once the flames were put out, the spirits returned to their card forms and flew back to Sakura's waiting hands. "Thank you," she murmured with gratitude before pocketing the cards away.

"Let's go," Syaoran said urgently.

Sakura nodded. "Mm." She then frowned. "Uh…how do we get out of here? Eriol-kun was the one who teleported us here, after all, since he said this was some kind of secret location."

Syaoran groaned as he slapped his hand against his forehead. "Damn that Hiiragizawa!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle. "Hang on, let me see if I can make another Sakura Card like back then."

Syaoran shook his head while smiling. "You never cease to amaze me, Sakura."

"Mou, Syaoran, you're making me blush," Sakura murmured as indeed, pink hues appeared on her cheeks. "Watch my back, okay?"

Syaoran nodded as a bright golden magic circle appeared beneath Sakura's feet once again. Closing her eyes, Sakura felt the magic surging through her body as she concentrated on creating a new card. The last time she had created a new card, it had been her teardrop that had created a card. However, she didn't think that would work this time. She had to figure out a new way to create a card.

"Celestial being of the stars

Grant me my wish to create a new form

I, Sakura, Mistress of the Cards, command it

The birth of a new Sakura Card!"

Syaoran was forced to send up wards all around them in order to make them invisible to others, for a blinding light suddenly shot up from where Sakura stood. Without the wards, their hiding spot would have been given away. This was the first time he had ever seen Sakura in the process of making a new card, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't awed by it.

When the light finally died down, a brand new Sakura Card was hovering in the air in front of Sakura's face. The image on the card looked like some kind of whirlpool-shaped portal. On the ribbon at the bottom of the card, was the words "The Teleport." Taking hold of the card, Sakura continued to stare at it disbelievingly and in shock. She had created her second original Sakura Card!

"I did it!" she murmured, stumbling back a little. "I did—" Suddenly, fatigue overwhelmed her and she found herself losing her balance as her body lurched backwards.

Eyes widening, Syaoran immediately rushed to her side and caught her before she could hit the ground. "Sakura? Oi, Sakura! What's wrong?!" he shouted with concern.

"I'm okay, Syaoran," Sakura murmured, smiling weakly at him. "Please don't worry about me." Syaoran chuckled—even when Sakura wasn't okay, it was typical of her to try to assure her beloved friends and family that she was okay and to tell them not to worry about her. It was one of her quirky charms that he loved.

"I had no idea that creating a new card would require so much magic," Sakura said. "On the bright side, at least I didn't faint!"

"No…no you didn't," Syaoran agreed. "Honestly, you used to give me near-heart attacks all those times you fainted way back when!"

"Did I? Sorry," Sakura said, smiling warmly up at him. She looked down at the new card she held in her hand. "Let's try this out." She tossed the card into the air and held her staff towards it. "Teleport! Open a portal to Eriol-kun's manor!"

The card glowed as Sakura's words activated it. A white and icy-blue portal then appeared in front of them, showing the drawing room in Eriol's manor. Both Sakura and Syaoran looked at the portal, then at each other. Nodding, they walked through the portal, with Syaoran supporting Sakura. As soon as they went through the portal, it vanished from sight.

Once they were gone, the person who had seen them ran over to where they had previously stood, surveying the area with a look of disbelief. These kids were using strange magic he had never seen before, and that girl…just who was she? He vanished on the spot, determined to report what he had seen to someone.

He reappeared in a large hallway that was dimly lit and well decorated, facing in the direction of a door. A magnificent purple and gold runner with intricate designs covered the dark red carpet. On the walls hung portraits and paintings of figures. The man took a brief moment to recollect himself before turning the bronze doorknob.

He paused once again for a brief moment upon passing the threshold from the hallway into the room in order to let his eyes adjust, for it was dark in the room. Once his eyes were well adjusted, he quickly strode forth towards a rather magnificent looking armchair, one that looked fit for someone of wealth and power. As he drew closer to the armchair, he could make out a figure sitting in said armchair. The figure was pale, extremely so. He was also hairless and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes and instead of an actual nose, possessed slits for nostrils.

"My lord," the man murmured, bowing his head. "I have something important that I must report."

"It better well be, Dimitri," the snakelike figure, known to the wizarding world as the Darkest, Evilest Wizard Who Ever Lived, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because of the cold fear his name struck in everyone's heart, save for a select foolish few, was Voldemort. "Why aren't you at the Quidditch World Cup with the rest of them?"

"My apologies, my lord," Dimitri murmured once again. "But I had witnessed something quite curious."

"Something quite curious?"

"Yes, my lord." He withdrew a long black stick from beneath his robes and held the tip up to his head. Drawing the wand away, a long, silvery trail followed. Dimitri then made a series of complicated patterns with the wand before a large hazy cloud appeared in the center, floating above the table at which Lord Voldemort sat.

"Watch closely, my lord," Dimitri said, keeping his gaze on the hazy cloud as the scene he had seen just minutes ago played. This spell was of his own creation, and it had taken him years to perfect it. It proved far more versatile than the Pensieve because he could draw his memory and show what he had seen as proof. It showed what he had witnessed—seeing the two teenagers, clearly foreigners from the way they were speaking Japanese instead of English, running behind a grove of trees, thinking they were safe from prying eyes. It showed Sakura seemingly creating a staff from out of nowhere, though Dimitri figured that it must have been because he was far away to be able to see clearly where that staff had come from, and how she seemingly conjured a water spirit and earth spirit to put out the fire. Then she was chanting a strange incantation that he couldn't understand and for one split second, there was the presence of a bright light before the two teens suddenly disappeared from sight.

"The boy, it seems, had thrown up magical wards to prevent anyone from seeing," Dimitri explained. Voldemort nodded, completely intrigued by what Dimitri had witnessed.

The two teens appeared once again, with the girl seemingly collapsing from exhaustion. Words were exchanged before the girl opened a portal for both of them to go through. Then, the hazy cloud dissipated.

Dimitri turned to Voldemort, who was lost in thought, though his eyes showed great interest in what he had seen. It was clear that, like Dimitri, Voldemort had realized that though she was young, the girl exuberated powerful magic, and he could tell that the girl practiced sorcery magic, not wizardry. He knew what sorcery magic was from his travels when he was young, before his physical transformation, but this was a type he had never before seen.

"Find out more about the girl. Consult with the Japanese Ministry if you must. After all, they must keep tabs on their magical inhabitants, do they not?"

Dimitri bowed. "Yes, my lord." He turned on his heels and briskly walked out of the drawing room. After he left, Voldemort narrowed his eyes.

"That prophecy…could it be?"

Back at Eriol's manor…

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! I MISSED SAKURA-CHAN CREATING A NEW CARD?!" Tomoyo squealed in horror, causing Sakura to cover her ears as her best friend's shrill voice rang throughout the room. As soon as the shrillness of Tomoyo's voice died down, Sakura slowly removed her hands from her ears and smiled sheepishly at the raven-haired girl.

"Don't worry Tomoyo-chan, I'll create new cards for you to record in the future!"

"But still, that is pretty impressive, Sakura-san," Eriol said. "First the Hope, now the Teleport. You truly are the strongest magician in the world."

"Hoeee, please don't say that," Sakura said, her cheeks red in embarrassment at the praise Eriol lavished on her. She didn't like the idea that she was the strongest of anything.

"Well, it looks like my dear cousin has a lot of catching up to do," Meiling said while grinning at her cousin, who just rolled his eyes.

"No one spotted you two, correct?" Eriol asked.

Sakura shook her head. "We didn't see anyone, and we were in a grove of trees away from the stadium. It wasn't in the direction that anyone was running towards."

Eriol nodded. "Good. It would be terrible if anyone were to find out about the cards."

"Why's that?" Syaoran asked.

"Because," Eriol explained, "the western world does not know about the existence of the Clow Cards, or Sakura Cards as they are now called. Because Clow had both eastern and western magic coursing through his veins as a result of his half-Chinese and half-English lineage, he was regarded as a gifted and powerful scholar of his time. It was said that upon leaving Hogwarts, Clow wanted to find a way to physically manifest eastern and western magic together. It wasn't until several years later that he finally succeeded.

Anyway, Clow has even kept the creation of the Clow Cards a secret from the Chinese magical government, and to date, few people know about the Cards' existence."

Eriol smiled as he looked at everyone, the expression on their faces showing that they were still taking in the information.

"That said, shall we go and eat?"

"Yes!" Sakura cheered, shaking herself out of her shocked state. They all went to the dining room to eat the food Nakuru had prepared for them (with Spinel mentioning as an aside that he made sure the food she made was edible). Tomorrow, they would be returning to Japan and saying goodbye to Eriol and his two guardians.

* * *

"Hold on, Ronald. Are you serious?" A bushy haired brunette asked incredulously.

"Yes, Hermione!" Ron threw his hands up in the air. "I thought it strange, you know, when I ran past them and told them to run to safety, but they didn't. So I stayed at a distance where I could see them but they couldn't see me, and it looked like they didn't want to be seen. Anyway, they were using magic I had never seen before to put out the bloody fire that the Death Eaters had set to the stadium. I had to use a sound enhancement charm to make out what they were saying, and the girl said something about stars or something."

"Stars?" Luna asked, her voice dream-like.

"Yes, stars!" Ron nodded furiously. "The prophecy, Hermione! Don't you see? It spoke about a child of the stars thawing a frozen heart and melting a great evil, and casting the world back into light! She could be the one the prophecy talked about! She could be the key to saving the western wizarding world from You-Know-Who's control!"

"But Ron, we mustn't be hasty," Hermione chastised. "We need to be quite sure that she is the one."

Both of them grew silent. Ron glanced around and sighed. "It's been 12 years, hasn't it, since…"

Hermione nodded.

12 years ago, at the conclusion of the Seconding Wizarding War and the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter had lost to Voldemort. As a result, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had cast a powerful Memory Charm on all of Harry's friends and supporters, erasing their memories of interaction with the Boy Who Once Lived in order to prevent opposition, and replacing said erased memories with false ones. Only a few, including her, Ron, and Luna, narrowly escaped the memory erasure, though they had to pretend that like the others, they, too, had the memories wiped in order to prevent Voldemort from trying again and actually wiping their memories for good. After the incident, Voldemort declared himself as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. Had Bellatrix not been killed by Molly Weasley, he would have appointed her Deputy Headmistress, but then again, Bellatrix wasn't the kind of person who would want such a position. It was a position that wouldn't have suited his most loyal Death Eater. In addition, Muggleborns were no longer allowed to study at Hogwarts—those who had previously studied at Hogwarts were forced to find another magical school to study at or participate in home study. During the past 12 years, Voldemort had to reform the Death Eaters, for a great majority of them had been killed during the Second Wizarding War. Truly, the wizarding world no longer looked the same, and those who still retained their memories, those still part of the rebellion, of Dumbledore's Army, took up refuge in Hermione's home and cast a Fidelius Charm upon it. Shell Cottage was not safe for them because Bill, the Secret Keeper, was one of the ones affected by the Memory Charm and therefore, it was not safe for them to return there.

Then a few years ago, they had heard about a prophecy, one that would stop Lord Voldemort's dark reign and bring the wizarding world back into the light. Voldemort had thought the prophecy ridiculous, for there was no witch or wizard far greater magic than he, as both Dumbledore and Harry Potter were dead.

"We need to find her before they do. There's no doubt that they'll find out about her soon and try to eliminate her," Neville said.

Hermione nodded. "Ron, do you know anything else about her?"

"Well…they were speaking in a foreign language," Ron said. "I think it was Japanese or something."

"Right then. Looks like we'll have to pay a visit to Japan."

"Oh right, like we're going to comb all of Japan just to find her."

"We don't need to do that," Hermione said suddenly.

"What? We don't?" Ron asked incredulously, but Hermione had already hopped onto her computer and was booking them flights to Japan for the next day. They had to travel the Muggle way to escape detection now that the wizarding world was corrupt. Even flying, which was previously unregulated, was now heavily regulated. All brooms were now required to be registered have Tracking Charms on them and no one could fly freely in or out of the wizarding world without prior approval from the Ministry of Magic. Any witch or wizard flying on unregistered brooms would be subject to harsh punishment. If there was a need of change, it was now.

* * *

A/N: Hey, I'm back with another Cardcaptor Sakura/Harry Potter crossover fanfic. This is set in an alternate universe where Voldemort won the Second Wizarding War and reformed it for the worst. Also, since Sakura and her friends attended the 427th Quidditch World Cup, that should give you all a clue as to what year this takes place in (hint: Harry and his friends attended the 422nd Quidditch World Cup in 1994, and the World Cup occurs every 4 years). For fans of Once Upon a Time, you may notice that I've drawn some inspiration for this fic from that TV show, particularly where Voldemort alters the memories of Harry's friends and loved ones and anyone who has aligned on the side of good. The only difference is Voldemort is altering their memories as a punishment, rather than as a means of vengeance like Regina, and there is no new world. I purposely made it so that Hermione, Ron, and Luna were the only ones who somehow escaped this memory alteration so that they could help Sakura out-after all, Syaoran, Eriol, Kero, and Yue can't help Sakura out when it comes to an unfamiliar branch of magic.

Also, you may have noticed that I said in the plotline "a child of the stars with the innate ability to thaw a frozen heart". This comes from the fact that Sakura has a natural tendency to want to befriend people. Additionally, look at how Syaoran and Yue were when they both first met Sakura. Both were rather cold towards at her at first (in Yue's case, it was because he saw her as inferior to Clow Reed and didn't welcome the notion that she could ever surpass him), but then they eventually warmed up to her (Syaoran even falling in love with her). She even got Meiling to finally see her as a friend instead of as a rival for Syaoran's affections (of course, we know that later on, she teams up with Tomoyo to try and get Sakura to confess to Syaoran, hehe).

I realize that my other Cardcaptor Sakura/Harry Potter crossover fic is still unfinished. I'm still trying how best to write the next chapter to show Voldemort's struggles of being stuck in Kero's body as a result of the switch caused by the Change Card yet still keep him somewhat in character at the same time (though thanks to Sakura's persistent kind heart, he's starting to learn, little by little, what it means to love). As soon as I get over that writer's block, I'll upload the next chapter.


	2. An Unknown Encounter with the Enemy

Chapter 2: An Unknown Encounter with the Enemy

"Blimey, I can't believe we're in Japan," Ron said breathlessly as he glanced around at the unreadable characters displayed on all the sides and heard a Japanese voice on the intercom announcing flight departures, delays, or the names of passengers who had yet to get on a flight. The fact that a majority of the people in the airport had dark hair and dark eyes didn't escape his attention either.

"Goodness, Ron, it's rude to gawk at strangers," Hermione chastised with a click of her tongue. "Now come on."

"Where will we spend the night?" Luna asked.

Hermione nodded. "Don't worry, I've got that covered. I found us relatively cheap hotel rooms in—" But her voice was cut off when an angry and annoyed yelp of pain was heard, followed by a loud "SAKURA WA KAIJUU JANAI!"

She, along with Ron and Luna, all turned their attention towards the source of the noise. Ron's eyes widened when he saw who it had come from. Standing a couple of feet away from them was a honey brown-haired girl with bright green eyes, her eyes livid for a brief moment as she glared up at a taller man with dark hair.

"That girl!" Ron said, drawing in a sharp breath.

"You say you're not a monster, and yet you kick like one," he muttered.

"Why you…" Sakura snarled, but another man with brown hair and glasses stepped forward, smiling at the two of them.

"Don't tease your sister like that, Touya, she just returned. How was England, Sakura?" Fujitaka asked.

Sakura beamed up at him. "It was a lot of fun! Eriol-kun showed us a lot of places and we even watched this game called Quidditch!"

Fujitaka smiled. "I'm glad you and your friends had fun. I should remember to thank my other self."

Ever since Fujitaka had found out the truth about how he was half of Clow Reed's reincarnation and that Eriol was the other half, he had been keeping in touch more with Eriol, eager to find out more about the man who was his past self.

"Well as long as she wasn't doing anything funny with the Brat," Touya said offhandedly while glaring at Syaoran at the same time. Syaoran scowled back. Their interaction was always like this, and neither bothered to cover up their distaste for each other. However, Syaoran held back from saying anything for Sakura's sake—he didn't want to cause a scene in the airport.

"Oniichan!" Sakura scolded. She then frowned. "Hey, aren't you supposed in Tokyo?"

"It's the weekend, remember?" Touya said offhandedly. "I'm going back to Tokyo tonight, anyway."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked sadly, disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see her brother for long.

"Okay, let's go get your luggage and head home. Do you all have rides home?" Fujitaka asked her friends.

Tomoyo nodded. "Yes, Kinomoto-san. My mother's arranged for my bodyguards to pick me up."

"Wei-san is picking Syaoran and I up," Meiling said proudly. "Don't worry about us!"

Fujitaka nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. Well, shall we get going?" He asked his family. "By the way, Sakura, what do you want to eat for dinner?"

Sakura's eyes glistened happily. "Crab croquette!" she said immediately without missing a beat. Her cheeks flushed pink as she thought of consuming her favorite food upon returning home.

"A food fit for taming the monster," Touya laughed again as they began walking.

"How many times do I have to say it, I am not a monster!" Sakura yelled. "Mou, stop being so mean to me! Don't make me use the Big on you!"

Touya knew she was bluffing, because she wouldn't dare expose herself in public like that. However, he decided to play along anyway and held up both hands. "Okay, okay." Then he whispered, "kaijuu."

Unfortunately for him, Sakura heard him. She kicked him yet again, then ran ahead laughing. "Bye Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran, Meiling-chan!"

"OI, SAKURA! GET BACK HERE!" Touya shouted as he gave chase after her while Sakura's friends looked on in confusion.

"I'm glad those two are getting along," Fujitaka said to himself, smiling as he continued walking in the same direction as his children.

"Look, I see Wei! Let's go, too," Meiling said as she dragged her cousin in the direction of their butler.

"That's her, that's her!" Ron said in excitement as he watched the Kinomoto family leave.

"Ron, are you sure?" Hermione asked. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"I'm positive!" Ron nodded.

"Well how do you suppose we approach her? We can't just walk up to her and say 'oh your life is in danger'," Hermione scoffed.

"Why not invite her for tea? I hear the Japanese love their tea," Luna said serenely.

"Luna, I don't think—"

"Excuse me, but do you know Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked, her English accented as she suddenly popped up behind Luna.

"Sakura-chan? That's her name?" Hermione asked, glad that this girl knew some English. She didn't have to waste time on a translation spell!

Tomoyo laughed. "Ohoho, no. It's just Sakura. –chan is an honorific. Our language uses many other honorifics, and –chan is used between two close female friends or when addressing a little kid. I'm her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji."

"It's nice to meet you, Tomoyo," Hermione said. "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley and Luna Lovegood. We're from Great Britain."

"Ah, we just came from there!" the dark haired girl responded. "By the way, what did you mean when you said her life was in danger earlier?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she glanced at her friends. How was she supposed to explain herself to a Muggle, especially since the topic involved magic? To their surprise, Tomoyo giggled as her voice dropped to a low whisper.

"If it has anything to do with magic, don't worry, I know all about it."

"W-we didn't—" Ron stuttered, but Tomoyo just smiled knowingly. There wasn't anything that escaped her sharp intuition.

"Why don't you all come to my house and we can discuss this more in private?" she asked.

"Well…okay," Hermione said. "Thank you for your generosity, Tomoyo." She bowed, remembering from her readings that it was the polite thing to do.

Meanwhile…

"Sakura Kinomoto? We don't have her name in our registry," the Japanese Minister of Magic, Hyouga Okazaki, responded with a frown as he glanced at a holographic list of witches and wizards in Japan. Unlike the British Ministry of Magic, the Japanese was more technologically advanced, utilizing the use of computers and TVs. Muggle items that were forbidden to be altered by magic by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, such as the flying carpet, were perfectly fine here in Japan.

"How can this be?" Dimitri snarled. "There must be some records of her!"

"Well, we do have records of her…" Okazaki responded slowly.

"What? Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because it isn't the sort of record that you would be looking for."

Now Dimitri was confused. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave Okazaki a pointed look. "What do you mean?"

Okazaki smiled. Holding up his wand, he said calmly in Japanese, "Magazine, get!" A magazine flew out from a basket sitting on the ground next to his desk and into his outstretched hands. He then flipped to a page and held it out for Dimitri to see. Dimitri's eyes widened when he saw who was on the page. Dressed in a detailed meadow green dress inlaid with several beads and smiling softly over her bare shoulder was the very girl he had been sent to look for, the girl who he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup. From the way that she was still, Dimitri could tell that this was a Muggle article, not a wizard one.

"I don't know if she has magic like you say she does," Okazaki spoke, "But we only have records of witches and wizards. If she is neither, we won't have any information on her magical lineage. She's quite a lovely girl, though."

"Well then, why don't you make yourself useful and tell me where I can find her?" Dimitri asked coldly, drawing his wand and holding the tip against Okazaki's neck so quickly that the latter had no time to react.

"Is that any way to treat me?" Okazaki asked, disturbed by this man's blunt rudeness. A knock came at the door. "Come in."

A tall woman with golden brown hair and wearing a business suit came in with a black folded tucked under one arm. She took a few steps forward into the room, bowed briefly to Dimitri, then turned to Okazaki. "Okazaki-san, Tohru-san wishes for you to review these files." She placed the black folder on his desk.

Okazaki nodded. "Very well. Thank you, Ashiya-san. You may leave now."

Ashiya bowed respectively back. She bowed once again to Dimitri before turning on her heels and heading out the door. Once she had left, Okazaki opened the folder without looking up at Dimitri.

"There is an interview with Miss Kinomoto right there in the magazine. You might find something useful," he said casually.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes. He wanted to crucio the hell out of Okazaki, but didn't want to start anything with the Japanese Ministry of Magic. Instead, he snatched the magazine off of Okazaki's desk and promptly walked out.

_K: Hello hello, this is PuraPura Magazine, and I am Kimiko! Today, we are going to interview Kinomoto Sakura, who modeled some of the outfits featured in recent issues of our magazine and the best friend of aspiring designer, Daidouji Tomoyo! _

_S: Hello! Ah, I'm so nervous. Tomoyo-chan should be here instead!_

_K: Nonsense, Kinomoto-san! Daidouji-san wanted me to interview you instead. _

_S: Hoeee…_

_K: Anyway, Kinomoto-san, tell us about you._

_S: Ah, Kimiko-san, please call me Sakura. I don't like being addressed so formally._

_K: Is that so? Well then, Sakura-san, tell us all about you._

_S: Okay! Hello everyone! I'm Sakura Kinomoto. I'm a ninth grader at Seijou Junior High in Tomoeda, Japan. My favorite subjects are P.E. and music. My least favorite is math. I'm also on the cheer team and winterguard team, and recently, Tomoyo-chan has convinced me to join the choir with her. I'm not as good a singer as she is though! I guess you could also say that I'm a really cheerful person. _

_K: Well, you certainly are cheerful, Sakura-san, and quite a busy person, too! Your mother was Nadeshiko Amamiya, right?_

_S: Ah, yes! She died when I was 3, so I don't remember her much, but I still love her anyway! My dad and big brother tell me that she was a very kind person. _

_K: Indeed she was. My mother told me that your mother was a highly sought model for her beauty and grace. _

_S: Waah, how wonderful! _

_K: Well, looks like we have to cut the interview short. Thank you for having this interview with us, Sakura-san. Until next time!_

Dimitri rolled up the magazine and threw it into a trash can. The only useful thing he got from the interview was that she lived in Tomoeda and that she attended Seijou Junior High. His lips curled up in contempt as he thought, _I can't believe a Mudblood is going to be the cause of the Dark Lord's downfall! Preposterous, indeed! At least I don't have to search all of Japan. _Without a second thought, he Disapparated.

* * *

"I'm impressed. You've been keeping your friend's magical identity a secret since you were 10?" Hermione asked.

Tomoyo nodded as she finished pouring tea for her guests. "Indeed. Help yourselves," she added.

"Thank you," Hermione said kindly as she picked up a cup of tea. From first glance, she could tell that this wasn't black tea, but a different type of tea. She took a sip, then set the teacup back down onto its saucer. "Now, I'm sure you would like to know more about the situation involving your friend, correct? By the way, how did you know that we possessed magic? We certainly didn't hint anything of the sort.

Tomoyo smiled. "A guess."

"For a Muggle, you certainly have sharp perception," Hermione commented. "But anyway, the British wizarding world is currently corrupt, led by someone whose name we are not allowed to mention. I would mention his name, but his name is cursed, so anyone who says his name would be found. Technically, the five of us were supposed to have our memories replaced with false ones, but we narrowly escaped that. We're currently in hiding and do not wish to be found out while we try to flesh out a plan of attack to reclaim the Wizarding World for good."

Tomoyo nodded, urging Hermione to continue on.

"Recently, another prophecy had been revealed. It spoke about a child of the stars coming to thaw a frozen heart and bringing the world out of darkness and back into the light."

"I was there the night your friend was at the Quidditch World Cup," Ron added. "And I'm certain the prophecy is referring to her because I remember seeing stars when she used her magic. By the way, what magic was she using anyway?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "I'm afraid it isn't my place to answer that, Mr. Weasley. You will have to ask Sakura-chan yourself."

"Anyway, we're afraid that He Who Must Not Be Named might go after your friend," Hermione continued. "If he sends any of his Death Eaters—that's what his followers are called—after her, she will be in big trouble."

"What…kind of trouble?" Tomoyo asked nervously.

"She could be killed," Luna said simply. She sipped her tea. "This tea has a wonderful aroma. It's different from the one back home."

Hermione noticed Tomoyo's hands shaking slightly as she set her tea down. Feeling bad that she now caused the girl worry over her best friend, she gently reached out and placed a hand on the teenage girl's arm.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens to her. Of course, we need to reach her before they do. Is there a way we can reach her?"

Tomoyo nodded. "She works part time at Tea Panda, a tea and boba café three days a week. In fact, she goes to work there tomorrow after color guard practice. You can catch her there. It's downtown next to the Twin Bells Shop."

* * *

That night, at the Kinomoto residence, Sakura stood in front of the stove, cooking chopsticks in hand as she stood watch over a sizzling pan of crab croquettes, her favorite food. She carefully flipped them over so that the crispy golden brown sides were facing up. A few minutes later, she turned off the burner and removed the pan from the stove, setting it down on a kitchen towel to cool down as she transferred the croquettes to a plate.

"Dinner's ready!" she announced as she set the plate of croquettes in the middle of the table, along with all the other food that her father had prepared.

"Looks delicious, Sakura," Fujitaka beamed as they all took their seat. "Well then, itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!" Sakura said cheerfully as she helped herself to two croquettes, adding them to her plate. With the other end of her chopstick, she seared off a chunk of fish and added them to her bowl of rice. Her face lit up as she took a bite. "Delicious!"

"How are school and work coming along?" Fujitaka asked.

"Tomorrow, the cheer team and I are going to be practicing for an upcoming competition," Sakura replied. "Work is hard, but it's still a lot of fun! Yoshida-san is a good boss."

"That's great to hear," Fujitaka said. "Just don't overwork yourself, okay? Especially since Tomoyo-san also has you involved in modeling."

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, dad, I won't. Besides, I'm not heavily involved in modeling like you said mom was."

After dinner, Touya bid farewell to his family before heading off to Tokyo. After waving goodbye to her brother, Sakura made her way up to her room with a pudding cup in one hand. Opening the door to her room, she found Kero in front of the TV, playing video games as usual. What had once been a traditional TV set had been replaced with a flat screen TV because Kero had wanted "to play the games with high definition pixels". That took some convincing for him to convince her father to replace the TV. Fortunately, her dad was kind and understanding.

"Kero-chan, I brought you pudding," she said as she set the pudding on her table and sat down on the chair next to the desk.

"Hang on, I'm almost at the end of this level!" Kero said, determination written all over his face. When the words LEVEL CLEARED appeared on the screen, he flew up into the air and kicked his tiny legs together. "Yeah, wahoo!" He then flew over to the desk where Sakura had set down the pudding and peeled it open.

"Waaah, pudding with chocolate swirls!" Kero exclaimed as he picked up the spoon next to the pudding and scooped a large amount into his mouth.

Sakura giggled as she changed into her pajamas. "I'm glad you like it, Kero-chan."

Kero scooped a few more spoonfuls into his mouth before looking intently at Sakura. "Say, Sakura…"

"What?"

"Did you finish your summer vacation homework?"

"Wha—?" Sakura murmured, tilting her head to one side. Kero simply pointed at a math book that was flipped open and a piece of paper that only had one math problem worked out. Sakura's face paled.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

_She didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she was standing in the center of a large circular platform surrounded by 8 tall white pillars. The platform, sleek and polished like ice, was highly reflective, allowing Sakura to somewhat see her own reflection when she looked down at her feet. However, that wasn't the strangest part. What was even more strange was that it seemed like the platform she was standing on was floating and surrounded by the cosmos. _

_"Where…am I?" she wondered out loud. Suddenly sensing a presence behind her, she spun around to see a shadowed figure wearing a cloak standing between two pillars. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Was it Clow Reed again? After all, her meetings with him had always involved being surrounded by the cosmos._

_"…Clow…san?" she asked cautiously._

_The figure shook his head. Instead, a voice rang out, "Please…do what I couldn't do. Stop him."_

_"Wait, who are you? What do you mean?" Sakura asked as she took a step forward. Her hand instinctively went out in front of her, as if making a motion to grab something._

_"The prophecy…stop him…" The figure then floated off the platform. Sakura broke into a run forward._

_"No, wait, please! I don't understand what you're saying? What prophecy? Who should I stop? Please! Come back!" she cried desperately. "Come back!" _

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! _

Sakura was still fast asleep as the knockings continued to pound at the door. Kero frowned as he pushed his drawer open and peeked out, seeing Sakura still fast asleep and unbothered by the knockings. Worry crossed his features—she had stayed up late until 1am to finish her math homework, and if she hadn't called Syaoran for help, she would've stayed up longer.

"Sakura? Sakura!" came a voice from outside the door. Kero recognized the voice as her father's, as her brother had already left the night before. He could hear worry and concern in her father's voice, worried that his daughter might be sick.

Like a tired zombie, Sakura shot straight up, but her eyes were still closed. The remnants of her dream seemingly faded to the back of her mind the moment she heard the knocks on the door. "Huh? Yeah. Yeah?" she murmured out loud.

"Sorry to wake you."

"No, no, no, no," Sakura yawned as she stretched. "You didn't. I've been up for…hours." Her head then drooped again for a brief second before she forced her head back up. "W-what is it, otou-san?"

"Time to get ready!"

"O-of course," Sakura mumbled. "…ready for what?"

"For school, of course. Isn't it your week to do classroom duties?"

"C-classroom…duties…"

Outside the door, Fujitaka frowned as Sakura didn't respond after that. She wasn't sick, was she? He wondered why she sounded so exhausted. He soon found that he didn't need to worry when he heard a loud "HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" from the other side of the door. Chuckling, he went back downstairs, knowing that Sakura was now fully awake.

Inside her room, clothes were thrown about as Sakura quickly changed out of her pajamas into her Seijou Junior High uniform as quickly as humanly possible, then stuffed her summer homework into her black school satchel.

"Geez, Sakura, you still have a bad habit of running late," Kero commented.

"Not now, Kero-chan!" Sakura groaned, swinging her satchel over one shoulder and rushing out the door. She took the stairs two at a time and briefly glanced at her dad when she got to the bottom.

"Good morning dad!"

She turned her attention towards the photo of her mom next to the dining table. "Good morning, mom!"

"You're not going to eat breakfast?" Fujitaka asked as he watched her strap on her skates, which were now black with pink trim instead of white and pink.

Sakura shook her head. "I can't, I'm super late."

"In that case, take this boxed lunch with you," Fujitaka said, handing her her bento wrapped in a checkered cloth.

Sakura smiled gratefully up at him and took the bento from him as she stood up. "Thank you!" She pushed the door open and quickly skated out. "I'm leaving!" Her free hand went up as she waved over her shoulder.

"See you later!" Fujitaka called out after her as she skated past the gates and down the street.

Her hair swaying forward and back, Sakura skated as quickly as she could in the direction of her school. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, giving her an extra dose of energy as she crossed a bridge and continued on until she came to the second intersection. She made a sharp right, grabbing onto a street bollard for balance. Immediately after clearing the corner, her eyes widened upon seeing two movers trying to move a large piano from a house to the moving truck.

"HOEEEEEEEEEE!" she cried as she jumped into the air and landed on the other side of the piano.

"Oi!" called one of the movers, annoyed at her recklessness.

"Sorry!" Sakura called back over her shoulder. When she looked forward again, someone's cat had decided to plop itself down in the middle of the road. Unable to stop herself, she let out another "HOEEEE!" as she stumbled in an attempt to avoid the cat. With only one blade touching the ground, Sakura struggled hard to regain her balance, but found that she was unable to. She swung around one last corner, but before she knew it, she found herself colliding into something. The force of the collision sent her flying back.

"Oww…" she mumbled in pain as she glanced at her scraped palms. "It hurts…" Remembering that she had crashed into something, she looked up and gasped in surprise when she saw a dark haired man, probably in his late 20s, groaning and letting out a string of expletives in a foreign language that Sakura quickly recognized as English.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Sakura cried as she got up and skated over to the man, holding her hand out helpfully.

"Bloody Muggles, I should—" the man swore before glancing up. Dimitri's eyes widened when he saw who had crashed into him. It was her, the girl that he had been looking for! Her honey brown hair, her bright green eyes…there was no mistaking that this was her. Sakura stared back at him, confusion written in her eyes. She had never heard of "Bloody Muggles" before, and wondered if it was an English slang that she didn't learn about yet.

"What's the rush, little lady?" Dimitri asked, this time a little more politely as he took her hand and pulled himself up. He usually wasn't one for niceties and wanted to take her to the Dark Lord as quickly as possible, he knew that immediately kidnapping her then and there wouldn't be the greatest idea.

"Um, uh, I'm late for school," Sakura said sheepishly, her English heavily accented. "It's also my week to do morning classroom duties, too. I'm sorry for crashing into you." She bent forward in an apologetic bow. A look of surprise briefly flashed across Dimitri's face before he realized that bowing was a Japanese cultural norm.

"Apology accepted," Dimitri said, flashing her a pearly white smile.

Sakura's shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." Remembering that she had to get going, she bowed once again. "Ah, I have to get going. Again, sorry for bumping into you…"

"Dimitri," the Death Eater responded. "I came here from England."

Sakura smiled cheerfully at him. "Ah, that's where a good friend of mine is from! I just came back from there yesterday. Ah, that's right, my name is Sakura Kinomoto! Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here in Japan, Dimitri-san." She bowed again before continuing down the path.

As he watched her retreating back, Dimitri let out a dark chuckle. "We'll see each other again, Miss Kinomoto." Once she was out of sight, he Disapparated. He reappeared in front of the door to the drawing room in Voldemort's newly acclaimed home and headquarters, just like the day before. Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

"Enter," a high, cold voice spoke from within.

With a twist of the knob, Dimitri entered. After allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he could make out six other figures sitting at the long table in the center of the drawing room, two on either side of the table. As usual, Voldemort sat at the head of the table in his ridiculously large armchair. Dimitri quickly walked over, bowed respectfully to Voldemort, and took his seat.

"Well? What have you found out about the girl?" he asked.

"The Japanese Ministry of Magic has no records on the girl named Sakura Kinomoto," Dimitri responded. "It is possible that she is a Mudblood, my Lord, since she attends a Muggle school and is involved in Muggle activities. She appears to be a simple-minded and naïve girl."

Voldemort frowned as he processed Dimitri's words. All around him, whispers broke out.

"How is it possible that a Mudblood would be our Dark Lord's undoing?" Theodore Nott asked. He was one of the newest recruit of Death Eaters after the Second Wizarding War.

"It's not possible," spoke Amycus Carrow. "Not possible at all." Next to him, his sister, Alecto, nodded in agreement.

"Dimitri, are you sure you have the right girl?" Draco asked. He stole a nervous glance at Voldemort. While he hadn't had his memory altered because Voldemort still believed that that the Malfoys, though incompetent, were on his side, Draco still erred on the side of caution. Next to him, his newlywed wife, Astoria, squeezed his shaking hand and gave him a small smile of support. Though she wasn't a Death Eater herself, she stayed by Draco's side to offer him support. She knew from the depths of his eyes that he didn't want to do this, not when he had an 8 year old son to think about.

"Of course I do!" Dimitri snapped. "Who else in Japan has brown hair and green eyes?!"

As his Death Eaters talked amongst themselves, Voldemort was deep in thought. So the prophecy was saying that a Mudblood would be his next cause of downfall? It was ridiculous, and even more ridiculous was the thought that a Mudblood could be more powerful than him, the greatest Dark Lord in wizard history. He even doubted that this young teenage girl could be more powerful than Dumbledore, the only man Voldemort truly feared. However, he had learned before from past experience with the Potter boy, now dead, not to underestimate anyone. He held up a hand, indicating for his Death Eaters to stop speaking.

"In any case, I want to test her magical prowess. If she cannot hold her own against highly skilled grown wizards, then she is of no importance to me. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

All the Death Eaters nodded in response. "Yes, my lord!"

"Excellent. Dimitri, you say that she was on her way to school?"

"Yes, my lord." Dimitri bowed his head in response.

"It wouldn't do to attack her now while she is still receiving her Muggle education, would it?" Voldemort mused. "You, Malfoy, Nott, Rowle, and Alecto will keep an eye on the girl and attack when the timing is right."

The five of them acknowledged his orders, then promptly left to carry out their task.

* * *

A/N: Despite Sakura being 15 years old, she is a ninth grader in junior high because that is how the Japanese school system works. Junior high school covers grades seven, eight, and nine, and students' age range from 13-15 years old. The academic year for Japanese schools also starts in April instead of September like many schools in the West and is divided into two semesters, the first of which runs from April to September and the second which runs from October to March. Because of this, Sakura will be in junior high until March, and then following her birthday on April 1st, she will be a tenth grade high school student. Summer vacation counts as a month-long break within the first semester, and as we have seen in the Cardcaptor Sakura anime (and perhaps other anime) where Sakura has been shown to work on her summer homework assignments, summer vacation isn't always exactly homework free.

Also, translation note: Sakura wa kaijuu janai = Sakura is not a monster! (instead of using "watashi wa" or "I am", Sakura always refers to herself in the third person when she's yelling at Touya for calling her a monster)

I've planted in a Frozen reference in this chapter. Props to you if you recognized it. :)


	3. Hajimemashite!

**Chapter 3: Hajimemashite! **

"Sorry I'm late!" Sakura cried as she slid open the door to classroom 9-B.

"Geez, Kinomoto-san, you still have a habit of being late?" Meiling asked as she came into the classroom with a freshly watered pot of flowers and set the pot down next to the windowsill.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Ehehehe…"

"All that's left to do is write down the daily lessons on the board," Meiling said. "You can do that, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Mm!" She went up to the blackboard and copied down the lessons for the day onto the board, then set the chalk down. "There!" She turned around, and it was only then that she noticed Syaoran sitting at his seat, his eyes focused on her. Her eyes lit up upon seeing him.

"Good morning, Syaoran!"

His lips curled up into a small smile as he acknowledged her. "Good morning, Sakura." He then frowned. "Did you sleep well?"

Sakura nodded. "Y-yes!" she lied. She didn't want him to know that she overslept as a result of staying up late to do her summer homework the night before.

At that moment, the door slid open again as a dark haired girl crossed the threshold into the classroom.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo greeted with a slight bow. She took off her hat and placed it down on top of her assigned desk before taking her seat. Sakura cheerfully bowed back.

"Morning, Tomoyo-chan!"

More and more students soon poured into the classroom. On the clock, the hour hand hovered slightly below the 8 while the minute hand hovered over the 11, indicating that there was only 5 minutes left until classes were in session. At exactly 8:00, the school bell rang, indicating that classes were starting. Anyone who arrived after the last ring of the bell would be considered tardy and subject to detention. After their homeroom teacher gave them a few words, he left. Five minutes later, their math teacher came in.

"Okay everyone, pass up your homework," the math teacher announced.

"Hai!" the class responded. Sakura glanced over her shoulder and held out her hand, in which Syaoran placed his homework in. Sakura then passed her and Syaoran's homework to the student sitting in front of her and let out a sigh of relief once the homework was out of her hand. From there, classes continued as normal. In choir, the students were given a newly composed Korean piece of music called "You Are a Miracle" to sing, with the Korean words written in katakana for ease of reading. To make sure the pronunciations sounded like actual Korean, their director went over the words verbally several times before allowing her students to sing the music. After school, Sakura joined her color guard team for practice. Mondays and Wednesdays were her color guard practice days, and Tuesdays and Thursdays were cheer practice days.

"Okay everyone, we're going to practice our routine today," the color guard captain, Yumi Misaki, announced. "Remember what your equipment is!" The routine she had in mind involved half of the squad using batons and half of the squad using the rifles for the first half of the routine. Then in the second half, all but six of the members would be flag tossing while three of the six members would continue to twirl batons and the other three would continue to use the rifles. It was an elaborate routine that required a lot of coordination, especially since part of the routine called for Sakura and two other girls to display their tumbling skills, especially backflips and backsprings, front walkovers, and aerial flips, skills that were rather advanced. Sakura would be one of the people who would continue to use the baton throughout the entire routine.

"Okay!" came the responses of the color guard squad before Yumi hit play on her mp3 player attached to a portable docking station, allowing music to resonate from the speakers. As they performed to Let It Go by Idina Menzel, Sakura was unaware that she was being closely watched. As she executed her moves, the Death Eaters watched her, concealed by a Disillusionment Charm. Dimitri had remembered her statement in that Muggle magazine the day before that she attended Seijou Junior High At the words "here I stand and here I stay", Sakura threw her baton high up into the air, then performed two quick backflips and an aerial somersault before going into a split. Her right hand shot up into the air, catching the baton as it came down. After she did so, she quickly got up and ran off to the side while the flag twirlers came together in the middle, then ran around in circles during the short interlude.

"Bloody hell, she's got talent," Draco said, eyes bulging wide with shock as he observed how flexible she was with her body and how skilled she was with the baton.

"I didn't know you were into acrobatics," Dimitri sneered.

"Mind your business," Draco snorted.

At the end of the song, all the members of the squad spun/twirled their respective equipment, then tossed them into the air for one last time before catching them and moving into their final pose and formation. Once the music cut off, Sakura collapsed onto her knees and let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a lot of work…"

"Okay, good job everyone!" Yumi called out. "We still need to sharpen our techniques. Maoko-chan, Kenji-kun, your three count tosses are messy and need to be sharper. Li-san, make sure your flag tosses are cleaner. Sakura-chan, try not to drop your baton. I've noticed that you dropped it twice."

Sakura nodded. "Okay!"

Meiling groaned. "Geez, I've been practicing my rifle tosses too many times already!"

They went through the routine again, this time without music as Yumi shouted out the counts. When practice was over two hours later, Sakura headed into the locker room with the others to change out of her practice outfit and back into her school uniform. Putting her school shoes back into her locker, she switched into her rollerblades for the trip home. When she emerged from the locker room, she found Syaoran, Meiling, and Tomoyo waiting for her.

"You guys waited for me?" Sakura asked.

"Of course!" Meiling winked. "Besides, your workplace has a 15% discount on boba drinks today, doesn't it? Who can say no to that?"

Sakura giggled. "Yep!"

The four friends made their way out past the school gates, Sakura skating at a slow pace so that she wasn't going ahead of her friends. As they passed the spot where the Death Eaters were, Syaoran stopped in his tracks and glanced around, sensing that something wasn't right. He focused intently on where the Death Eaters were, sensing that there was a presence there, but he didn't see anything. Meanwhile, Draco could swear that he himself was sweating bullets when he saw Syaoran glaring daggers at the spot where they were.

"Syaoran? Is something wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly, stopping in her tracks to look at him.

Syaoran frowned as he narrowed his eyes at the spot where the Death Eaters were before looking away. He didn't want to worry Sakura. "No. Not at all." They then continued on. Once they were out of sight, the Death Eaters removed the Disillusionment Charm.

"Merlin's beard, did he know we were here?" Nott hissed.

"He was with the girl at the Quidditch World Cup," Dimitri said with a nod. "While our mission is to learn more about the girl, I am also interested in the boy as well."

"Do that later. You know the Dark Lord will be displeased if you do anything beyond what we are asked to do," Avery said. He nodded in the direction Sakura and her friends had walked in. "Don't let them get out of sight."

…

The sidewalk was lightly littered with colorful fallen leaves, a mix of new and old. In the air was an earthy smell from the leaves and from the bark of the trees. They crossed the bridge, where even the leaves had fallen and settled into the quiet and gentle stream.

"Ah, the weather is so nice!" Sakura murmured happily as she twirled herself around on her skates.

"It makes me happy that you're happy, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo beamed as she brought her video camera up to her face. Turning so that she was now skating backwards, Sakura gazed directly into the lens of her best friend's video camera, her cheeks flushed red in shy embarrassment. While she admired her friend's devotion to her, sometimes she found it to be over the top.

"T-Tomoyo-chan…"

They eventually made it to Tea Panda in downtown Tomoeda, Sakura's place of work. It was cutely decorated, with the shop sign displaying a logo of a panda happily sipping milk tea with boba after the name of the shop, written as茶パンダ. Inside, the top half of the walls were painted a relaxing shade of green while the bottom half was made of bamboo covering. 9 square black tables were present in the front of the café and placed in an L-shape. Three of those tables, all of which seated 2 people, were stationed up against Tea Panda's large window to the right of the door. Another three tables were stationed against the wall opposite of the counter on the left side, where employees carried out customers' orders. Behind the counter were large blackboards with the menu written in colored chalk. A small path leading to the back showed a larger space with even more seats, with bar stands and seats all along the wall and three tables with comfy sofas for seating. The café also had three flat-screen TVs high up on the walls, one at the front of the café and two at the back, which showed music videos for mainly J-pop music, though there were also some K-pop music as a result of the Hallyu wave and American music. Occasionally, it would even show a movie.

Upon entering Tea Panda, Sakura smiled at two people working behind the counter, one who was responsible for taking orders and the other who was responsible for making the orders.

"Hi Mari-san, Kaito-san!" The two were older than her by two years and were in high school. Mari and Kaito smiled and waved at her.

"Hello, Sakura-chan!" Mari greeted briefly, then returned her attention to the customer in front of her. "340 yen, please."

"Great, since Sakura-chan is here, my shift is over!" Kaito cheered as he pumped his fist into the air. It was his job to prepare the drinks for the customers. Mari punched him in the arm as a result, causing Kaito to wince in pain.

"Ow, Mari-chan, that hurts!"

Sakura giggled. "I'll go clock in and put on the uniform." To be frank, the uniform was nothing more than a dark gray apron with the shop's logo on it. Turning to her friends, Sakura said, "Just a minute" before she pushed past the flap that only employees were supposed to go through, then pushed past another door that lead to the backroom. After she clocked in, she put on her apron affixed with her name badge to let customers know who she was. Kaito came in just as she was putting on her apron to clock out.

"Have a good day, Sakura-san," Kaito said as he finished clocking out.

Sakura smiled cheerfully and nodded. "You, too, Kaito-san!"

Kaito waved goodbye to her before heading out. Following right behind him, Sakura saw Kaito bidding Mari goodbye as well just before he went out the door.

"Ready to get started?" Mari asked Sakura as Sakura came up beside her.

Sakura nodded cheerfully. "Un!"

After a couple of customers, it was finally her friends' turn to order. Meiling ordered a thai milk tea with boba, Tomoyo ordered a green tea latte, and Syaoran ordered chocolate milk tea, his favorite simply because there was chocolate involved. After Mari took their orders, Sakura carefully made her friends' drinks, calling out their names when she was finished with their drinks. For Tomoyo's green tea latte, Sakura created a typical flower pattern.

Her friends thanked her for the drinks before they sat down at one of the tables stationed against the wall, with Syaoran absentmindedly looking at the TV that currently showed a music video for Hyuna and Hyunseung's Troublemaker.

"Wow, this is great!" Meiling praised as she sipped her thai milk tea.

Tomoyo agreed as she sipped her latte. "Sakura-chan is getting better and better each time," she remarked. For about an hour, Mari and Sakura took and carried out each customer's orders, some of whom stayed behind in the café to drink and also study, and some who left after getting their drinks. A little past the first hour, Hermione, Ron, and Luna entered, finally having found the place.

"Irrashaimase!" Sakura said cheerfully as she bowed to them. "Welcome to Tea Panda!" Then recognizing that they weren't Japanese, she tilted her head to one side curiously. "Hoe? Foreigners?"

Hermione smiled as she and her friends approached the counter. "Hello. We're from England if you're wondering." She then caught sight of Tomoyo and gave a brief nod as acknowledgment. Tomoyo gave a small bow back in response, an action that did not go unnoticed by Syaoran and Meiling.

"You know them?" Meiling asked.

Tomoyo nodded as she dropped her voice to a low whisper so that only Syaoran and Meiling could hear. "Something like that, yes. I saw them at the airport yesterday."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes. He could detect a great presence from them, indicating that they also had magical powers. That made him all the more suspicious of why they were in Tomoeda, since it wasn't exactly a place that tourists would go to.

Sakura's eyes brightened. "Ah, my friends and I just came back from there yesterday!" she responded in English. "It's such a wonderful place!"

"Next!" Mari said as her most recent customer walked off after ordering and sat down to await his order. Sakura immediately got to work on making his order—a hot black milk tea.

"I'd like to try boba, I've never heard of it before," Luna said serenely as she and her friends moved forward in line. She looked at Mari. "I'd like boba, please."

Mari smiled. "With what drink would you like your boba with?" she asked in accented but perfect English.

For a moment, Luna looked puzzled. "Isn't boba a beverage here?" she asked.

"The term boba refers to the tapioca balls found at the bottom of the drink," Mari explained. "Boba milk tea, also known as pearl milk tea or bubble tea, consists of either milk teas or fruit-flavored teas and sometimes coffee as the base. Milk tea is just green or black tea with milk or cream added. Boba is one of the add-ons that we offer, but we also offer jellies cut into small cubes, stars, or thin strips. Our best selling item is Thai milk tea. Would you like to try it?"

"Hmm, that sounds peculiar. I will take it," Luna said with a nod. Neither before had she ever heard about thai milk tea, but since Mari had recommended it to her, she decided to go ahead and take the worker up on the offer.

"340 yen, please. Your name?"

"Luna." Luna fished into her pocket and glanced at the small amount of yen in her hands, in which she only had 500-yen coins and 100-yen coins. As a result, she gave Mari a 500-yen coin, for which she received back change that consisted of one 100-yen coin and six 10-yen coins. She moved away from the counter to let Hermione and Ron order. The two of them just ordered hot black tea and paid for it.

"Miss Luna, your Thai milk tea is ready!" Sakura said cheerfully as she set Luna's freshly made drink on the counter. "Straws are over there on the counter along with napkins."

"Oh, thank you," Luna said serenely as she took her drink from Sakura as the brown-haired girl went to work on Hermione's and Ron's orders, which didn't take much effort at all. She went over to the table currently occupied by Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Meiling. "We've met before," she said to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo smiled politely. "Yes. Would you like to join us?"

"We're not imposing on you and your friends, are we?" Hermione asked nervously. She had noticed how Syaoran was glaring suspiciously at them.

"Actually—" Syaoran began, but Tomoyo cut him off.

"Not at all," she said politely.

"Miss Hermione, Mister Ron, your tea is ready!" she said cheerfully as the two came up to pick up their cups of tea.

"Ooh, thank you!" Hermione said. "That was quick."

Sakura bowed. "I hope you enjoy your drink." She then went to work on the next customer's milk tea drink as Hermione and Ron went to sit down. Her eyebrows creased in confusion when she saw the two of them, along with Luna, joining her friends at the table. What was going on?

"What made you come to Tomoeda? It's not exactly a…um, place where travelers visit," Meiling said.

"Well, we're on a mission," Ron began, looking unsure if he should continue.

"About what?" Meiling pressed.

"Um…"

"Don't worry, she knows," Tomoyo explained.

"About what?" Meiling whined.

"About magic," Tomoyo said, then addressed Hermione and Ron, who were looking at her with shocked faces. "Li-kun and Meiling-san are cousins, you see."

"And I should know about magic," Meiling huffed. "I wouldn't be a Li if I didn't."

"Hold on, what do you mean?" Ron asked.

Meiling proudly folded her arms over her chest. "The Li Clan is the most powerful and influential magical family in China. The Li's are direct descendants of Clow Reed from his maternal lineage. Syaoran is the heir of the Li Clan."

"I think I've read about that family before in one of the books, about pureblooded families beyond Great Britain," Hermione spoke up, leaning forward with interest. "I've read that your family has influence both among Muggles and among wizardfolks. So you're the heir?"

"I don't know what you mean by pureblood," Syaoran spoke. "But Meiling is right. I'm their heir. As the only son and male in the family, it's my job to take over the clan once I turn 21."

"He has four older sisters," Meiling chimed in, causing Syaoran to groan.

"You and my sister would have loads to talk about," Ron said with a grin. "She's the only girl in a family of seven." His grin promptly disappeared. "But if she's also a Li, why doesn't she have magic?"

"I didn't, what's the word, inherit magic," Meiling said. "But despite that, I can still fight, and…what's that English phrase for when you want to beat someone up?"

"Beat into a bloody pulp?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah, that!"

Hermione smiled weakly. "I'll keep that in mind. So you're a Squib then?"

"What is a Squib?" Tomoyo asked curiously.

"In the wizarding world, we refer to people born to magical families but have very little to no magical ability as 'Squibs'," Hermione explained. "Squibs are usually integrated into Muggle society because there's simply no place for them in the wizarding world."

"Unless they want to become caretakers at Hogwarts like Filch, that senile old git," Ron muttered.

"But Clow Reed…where have I heard that name before?" Hermione mused as she folded her arms. "It's familiar, but I can't remember where I've heard the name before."

"When does your friend get off work?" Luna asked suddenly.

"She works until closing, so until 8," Tomoyo said. "So just about an hour from now."

Hermione nodded. "Alright."

While they waited for Sakura to finish up her shift, they discussed amongst themselves, with Syaoran firing questions after questions at Hermione, Ron, and Luna about where they came from and the three answering him back, with Hermione's answers being the most detailed and Luna's being the most vague. With the sound from the TV turned up loud and the sound of conversations from other tables mixing in the air as more people came in, their conversations were drowned out, which was just fine with the three wizards.

"Oh, you guys are still here?" Sakura asked after she had clocked out of her shift. She turned to Ron, Hermione, and Luna and bowed. "Oh, hello. My name is Sakura Kinomoto!"

"It's nice to meet you, Sakoora," Ron said, unintentionally butchering her name. "My name is Ron Weasley. This is my wife, Hermione Granger, and good friend, Luna Lovegood. Anyway, we have something very important to discuss with you."

Sakura frowned. "Hoe?"

Unknown to them, Draco was standing outside with his back turned towards the shop's window. He narrowed his eyes as he walked away, pleased with what he had heard.

"Granger, Weasley, and Lovegood still have their memories? This just got a little more interesting."

* * *

A/N: So, not much going on in this chapter. Sakura goes to school, goes to practice, and then goes to work. This was just to get Sakura to meet Ron, Hermione, and Luna in a safe environment. More action will come in the next chapter. Also, it may not seem like it at the moment, but Draco is going to be a good guy.

Also, to annieharp84: nope, that's not the Frozen reference I was talking about. If anyone still wants to guess what the Frozen reference was in chapter 2, feel free to take a shot.


End file.
